Sunday 5 December 2021
Welcome
God said: ‘I will send my messenger ahead of you
to clear the way for you.
Someone is shouting in the desert
‘Get the road ready for the Lord
make a straight path for him to travel.’
Hymn 279 Make way
Lighting the Advent candle
Hymn 282 Christmas is coming vvs 1 & 2 and choruses
Prayer
Eternal God
when your Son was born
to lighten our darkness
people believed that the earth was flat
that heaven was above the clouds
and disease was caused by demons
In recent centuries we have learned
to view your world in different ways
and yet we are in bondage to new limitations
we doubt what we cannot prove
we ignore what we cannot see
we find little room for faith
we confess that we suspect angels
and disbelieve good news
we are both infected and affected
by the spirit of our times
behind talk of world peace
we hear the machinery of war
beneath talk of global equality
we see powerful nations striving to be the most powerful
beside talk of your church being renewed
we recognise bondage to the failed patterns of the past
rather than embrace the light
we are fascinated by darkness
past experiences make us cynical
but they are not the key to the future
our suspicions close our minds to hope
we may be able to describe the mountain, but cannot move it
As Christmas approaches
help us to have the naivety and trust
of Mary and Joseph, and all who were then waiting
who encountered angels
believed the Good News
and recognised Christ among them
Hymn SGP 45 How lovely on the mountains
Reading Philippians 1: 3-11
Reflection
Last week we were thinking about preparing ourselves for Christmas, guided by the lectionary psalm, Psalm 25. This week we’ll use the lectionary Epistle reading to help us reflect on how we can prepare for Christmas and the New Year in the wider sphere of church life.
- Paul begins by saying that the thanks God every time he thinks of them. That’s nice. Wouldn’t we like that if someone wrote to our church and said that? But do we think like that? Do we give thanks for every single person in our congregation, and across the wider church in Dumbarton, Presbytery and beyond? Or are we a bit selective – happy to give thanks for our friends, those who are part of our circle, who are easy-to-get on with; but there are others where thinking of them does not immediately bring to mind thanks to God? It is doubtful that everyone in the church in Philippi was a perfect little angel. They must have had their awkward characters too. Just like the group who followed Jesus around Galilee and Judaea and became the first church community. God loves everyone and calls everyone into his family. He calls us to love all those whom he loves. Fortunately, he gives us his Spirit to help when human nature fails
- Paul prays for them. Do we pray for the church: our own congregation, the wider church, do we do it regularly/frequently? What do we pray: a general ‘we pray for our congregation/ the church’, or do we pray for individuals, for groups within the church or who use the church? Do we pray for some kind of general blessing, or are we specific in requests we make to God? Do we pray for the future of the church, with numbers falling and challenges over finance and human resources; for the Presbytery Mission Plan; for the future of talks on union in Dumbarton; for how we engage with the 90+% of folk in the town who don’t relate to the church in any way?
- Paul speaks about working in partnership with the church in Philippi. How much do we feel part of a ‘partnership’ – in our own congregation, in the wider church? If we don’t feel that we are engaged in partnership, how are we going to address it? Does it mean that we have to put in more effort to be engaged, or do we need to challenge the ‘gate-keepers’ to let us be more involved?
- We hear Paul’s prayer for them ‘that love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight’ that they ‘may be able to discern what is best’, and ‘be filled with the fruit of righteousness’. Are we striving to have our love abounding, or is it something that doesn’t interest us much? What are we doing about gaining knowledge and depth of insight? Are we reading, listening or watching to learn more about our faith and its implications for everyday living and the way God wants the world to be? Are we ready to engage in discussion with others, to see what we learn from that? What is it that we want to know or to talk about?
- In his letter to the churches in Galatia, Paul spoke about the ‘fruit of the Spirit’ as being love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Are they things that we see in ourselves? Are they things that other people see in us? Do we want these hallmarks of being followers of Jesus? Are we ready to let the Spirit work in us and develop these ‘fruits’?
For many in our country and culture, Christmas is about fun, food, friends and family, a burst of indulgence in the depth of winter, but something that fades fairly quickly afterwards. As for Advent, it is that hectic time leading up to Christmas. For church folk (despite what our Presbyterian forebears may have said) there is nothing at all wrong in sharing in the mid-winter festivities. But for us there is something more, something lasting, from Advent and Christmas. God calls us to reflect, to prepare, not just for celebrating what happened 2000 years ago in Bethlehem, but what he wants us to do in Dumbarton and beyond in 2021 and 2022 as part of the work of building his Kingdom
Hymn 286 Tell out my soul
Prayers for others and Lord’s Prayer
Heavenly Father
You have called us to be your people
to have a special relationship with you through Jesus –
we may call you father
we are family and friends to each other
but you also want us
to be an example to the world of what it is like
living by your values and standards
to work to build your Kingdom
sharing the Good News of Jesus and striving for peace and justice
It is hard to be the kind of community you want us to be
sometimes having to work alongside people that we can find difficult
sometimes frustrated because things aren’t being done
the way we think they should be
sometimes dispirited because no one seems interested in the Good News
or peace, or justice, or concern for the poor and vulnerable
Fill us anew with your Spirit
enable us to serve you faithfully
to cope when it is hard
to show the fruit of your Spirit in all that we do
We pray for all who are ill,
those who look after them
and those who worry about them
those waiting for or receiving treatment
and those for whom there is no treatment
those who are lonely, feeling down, or grieving a friend or loved one
those who are worried about home, work or money
a friend or a relative
those who are living with the after-effects of natural disasters
those who do not have enough to eat, or somewhere to call home
those who long to live in peace and safety
those who have fled from their homes seeking safety
We pray for the Queen, the Government
all in positions of leadership in this and every land
We bring to you our prayers for people and situations of special concern to us
And we sum up our prayers in the words of the prayer Jesus gave us
Hymn 477 Lo! He comes
Blessing
Look forward in hope
to the coming of your Saviour
prepare the way for Christ your Lord
welcome him with love and faith
when he comes in glory
and the blessing of God Almighty
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit,
rest and remain with you,
today, and every day, and for ever. Amen
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